BJP has created walls within the country: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: Slamming the BJP for what he described as “vitiating the entire atmosphere”, former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray accused the ruling party and its leaders of creating walls within India.

“India is a beautiful country. It has a great culture. However, these people (BJP) have vitiated the entire atmosphere and made it hell. These people have created walls within the country. I have been working hard to prevent further deterioration,” Thackeray, a key leader of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi-I.N.D.I.A. bloc, told reporters in Pune on Saturday.

Slamming the BJP for questioning his Hindutva credentials for allying with the Congress, he asked whether Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar are staunch Hindutva followers.

Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu are NDA partners of the BJP and their support is crucial to the Narendra Modi-government.

“I do not require any certificate from BJP on Hindutva…my grandfather (Prabodhankar Thackeray) was a leading social reformer of his times…our Hindutva has always been progressive,” Thackeray told reporters in Pune.

Targeting the Modi-dispensation on the Pahalgam issue, he said: “In the Pahalgam terrorist attack, bullets were fired at the victims after asking their religion. What did the BJP do?”

Thackeray reiterated that the BJP cannot run governments either at the Centre or States. “The Centre has failed to address issues in Kashmir and Manipur,” he said.

On Maharashtra, he said that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is not able to combat the rampant corruption as he is a feeble leader. "Despite several instances of corruption, he is looking helpless to act against corrupt individuals," he claimed.